Bittersweet
by Scarlet Rayne
Summary: Kaoru - yet to experince pain and hardships in life, starting to crack. Kenshin - Broken in the past. KenshinKaoru - :) [KK] Plz R&R. FICTION REVAMPED and REVISED.
1. Deafult Chapter

**IMPORTANT, PLEASE TAKE NOTE!  
**This is actually a fiction that I started on** 30/8/2003 – 19/7/2004. **I stopped writing on the tenth chapter. After leaving it for almost 5 months, I REVAMPED this fiction. **(6/12/2004 - 23/12/2004)** Now it has fewer chapters, as I combined a few chapters into one. But it has the same plot, and I kept the same scenes/characteristics/etc.

And yes, I also changed the title. It was formerly known as **Does Love Conquer All?** Crappy title, I know,I know.

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My apologies to my _darling reviewers_ who endured me till my last update (chapter ten). I understand your torment.  
Anyway, here it is. Hopefully it's better.

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**Chapter 1  
**She was heading towards her new school today, and the sun wasn't shining very brightly. The sky was gloomy, matching the mood she was feeling that instant. Strolling down a narrow pathway, she was drowned in her thoughts as she enlightened herself about the events that had recently occurred.

The landlord paid them a very _friendly _visit two days ago, demanding for the three months' unpaid rent. Six minutes later he was seen storming out, not before threatening her and her mother –"_If you don't pay up by next month, you can bet your life you won't be ass warming the house anymore_."

She let out an exasperated sigh, frustration washing over her.

It felt like the world has been very unkind, ever since her father left the earth when she was nine. Seems that after that, every difficulty an adult would face came crashing down like a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm that had lasted for the past six years, that was still on going now.

Her mother had lost her job after she found out she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Life savings have been spent on treatments and such, but it didn't seem to help one bit. Water bills, electric bills, taxes even, were all not paid.

Adding to her displeasure, Potato, her beloved dog of five months, ran away not so long ago after (what she guessed) living the life of stricken poverty with her and her mother. Two meals every three days were not all that bad.

Damn ungrateful animal.

Walking past a few terrace houses, her ears alerted her brain that she was about to approach higher volumes of squealing laughter. Recognizing the voices as little children, her curiosity perked up to where it was coming from.

Then it came to view. There were two of them, running around in the backyard. They were playing tag, or what she assumed the game was called.  
She smiled when one of them got "tagged", which immediately diverted their movements to the opposite direction.

Watching them silently as they ran around screaming, she felt something irritating tugging at the side of her heart. It took a while to figure out what it was, and when she did, she was not at all surprised.

Envy.

She was envious of the two little girls. They were happily having some innocent fun, without a care in the world. Something she has always yearned to feel, something she had always craved to experience.

But God said no. And that was that.

Shaking her head, she smirked at her own thoughts. She was being silly and dramatic again, so she decided to ignore whatever was going on in her head. As she made a move to carry on with her journey to school, a small, shy voice stopped her.

"H-Hi!"

She turned her head slowly to it came from, and saw the two out of breath children grinning at her. They were puffing heavily, signs of exhaustion glowing on their faces. She smiled at them.

"Are you going to school?"

"Yes, I am." She replied.  
_  
_"Is school fun?" The pig-tailed girl asked excitedly.

"I bet it is." The other girl answered for her. Kaoru just starred at them, offering them a smile.

The two of them starred back, smiling broadly.

"My name's Ayame. She's Suzume." She introduced, feeling shy again all of a sudden.

Feeling an urge to entertain them, she knelt down by the gate to their height.

"Those… Those are pretty names you have there."After that they started conversing for a few minutes, and more introductions were made. As she glanced at her watch, she realized that she was late for school. Getting up, she explained to them that she had to leave, and left.

Knowing that she made two new friends.

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When she reached the school gates, her watch showed 8.10 a.m. Sighing to herself, she took her own sweet time walking through the quiet school halls, and into the office. After she filled in some forms, the nice lady in the office gave her a schedule, and some directions to where her classrooms were located.

As she entered her first class, the teacher had already begun teaching. Every pair of eyes landed on her, the guys checking her out from top-to-bottom while the girls remarked in whispers about her appearances.

"So you're the new student, Kamiya Kaoru, I presume?"

She nodded as she shifted her weight, feeling uncomfortable.

"Well, seeing that you're new and all, I shall excuse you for being late. Now go find a place to sit behind."

She hurriedly walked to the empty seat behind the class. As she made her way there, she could feel more intense gazes behind her back. She itched to turn around, gouge their eyes out and throw them out the window.

But obviously, she couldn't. And anyway, she didn't have a spoon with her. So..

Sinking into her chair, she took out her brand new history book. Flipping to page 567 (it was written on the blackboard), she tried to understand what the teacher was talking about. And she did catch up, eventually.

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The dismissal bell rang, and the students got up and walked out of the classroom quickly. She was still in the middle of getting up, shoving papers and notes into her bag. As she was halfway through the door, someone not-so-tall knocked her over. She fell down as expected, butt making contact with the cold cement floor.

Looking up while glaring at him on reflex, she muttered -"Watch it, doofus."

Though it was soft, her not-so-tall classmate heard, unknown best to her. But being all the gentleman that he was, he just lowered his head and starred at her, without offering any hand to help her up, or even have the decency to ask if she was alright.

So he just. Starred.

Thinking that he was an ignorant bastard, she got up, pushed him aside not to gently, and headed towards the school exit.

On the way home she passed by a not-so-fancy restaurant, that had a sign hanging on the glass. It caught her eye for some reason, as she stood, reading it for a few moments. A few seconds passed, when she was seen entering the restaurant hesitantly.

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The following day -during her science class, where girls decide that it's the perfect time to gossip and guys to flirt, her science teacher took that moment to step in for an announcement.

"Class, can I g-"

They continued to babble on, ignoring Mrs. Miawari's existence.

"Class. CLASS. **CLASS**!!"

Silence.

"Good. Now that I have your attention… For your next term, you are to do a scrapbook with a classmate about a specific cold blooded animal, frogs. It would cover sixty percent of your test, so if you do poorly in your papers, there's still the scrapbook to depend on."

The whole classroom remained silent.

Taking it as an opportunity to carry on, Mrs. Miawari continued -"Now class, I shall assign you to your partner. But this time, you wouldn't be grouped in alphabetical orders, as I learned a little trick, from Ms. Himawari."

"Every one on the first, third and fifth row, turn to your right, and everyone on the second, fourth and sixth, turn to your left."

Everyone followed her instructions, and they were now facing with someone face to face.

"And who you're seeing now, would be your science partner."

Groans echoed through the whole class, as Mrs. Miawari grinned. "Clever trick, eh?"

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As the bell rang, the science teacher left the class hurriedly -not before reminding the class that the project would be due in two months.

Kaoru was doodling on a piece of paper with her pencil, until she felt a shadow loomed over her. Looking up, it was her science partner. She smiled a little bit, but he, on the other hand, was a bag full of smiles.

"I look forward working to you." He said friendlily, stretching out his hand. She took his hand and shook it awkwardly. "Me too."

"So, when you want to start? We have eight weeks to do it." He asked, making conversation as he sat down on the vacant seat in front of her.

"Um… What about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?"

"You asked me when I wanted to start, so I chose tomorrow."

"Oh. So tomorrow it is." He replied sheepishly.

She grinned at him, as she slid in the piece of doodled paper in between the pages of her science notebook. "So… What time do you want to come by my house _tomorrow_?"

"Y-Your house?" she asked, surprised.

"Yup, my house." He answered, lashing out yet, another smile.

"What about… after school? You can lead me instead of me finding my own way there."

"That's a good idea." he replied grinning. He was about to get up, when he stopped when something came to his mind. "And oh, before I forget, here's my number just in case." He scribbled down on her palm. "Call me."

She felt abit shy, feeling his warm hand against hers. As he went back to his seat, she glanced at the ink that formed alphabets and numbers on her palm.

_'So that's your name.. Soujiro.' _

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**AN**: If you read this fiction before, you would realize that I've combined the previous chapter one and two, into a prologue. So it was stupid of me to waste two chapters. Oh well. Anyway, I'm sure you would know what to do now.

But if you don't, let me enlighten you.

**Review please!** :D


	2. 002

**AN**: Remember, this is a revamped fiction! :)

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**Chapter 2  
**It was recess time when she was searching high and low for a rubbish bin, as she walked around the cafeteria. After finding one, she casually threw her bun wrapper into the bin from a distance. Smirking that it got in on her first try, she pushed the doors open to get out of the overly crowded cafeteria. When she was about to take another step, she felt her butt make contact to the floor –again, as someone slammed her down. But.. didn't this happen already yesterday?

Yes it did.

What did she do to deserve this?

Groaning as well as filled with irritation, she snapped at the culprit as she got up from the dirty floor.

"Why can't you watch where you're going?!"

Silence.

"You dim-witted idiot, don't you hav- Wait a minute. Didn't I bump into you _yesterday?_" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Realization dawned on her as soon as she saw his face, brain recognizing him as the ignorant bastard.

He remained silent, starring blankly into her face.

"Mute?" she asked sarcastically.

"..................."

"Deaf?"

"..................."

"So you're mute, deaf _and_ blind?"

"..................."

"Just get out of my way."

"..................."

"Can you move?"

"..................."

"Are you paralyzed as well?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

"..................."

She was about to scream at him for being so annoying because he was saying…. Nothing, when she saw something crumpled lying on the ground. Dead rat? No. Banana peel? No. Rotten apple? … Nope.

She squinted her eyes to get a clearer view on what it was. Then it hit her - A twenty dollar note.

She started grinning.

She roughly shoved him away, making her way to where the note was. Picking it up, she stuffed it into her pocket and walked away humming to herself, completely forgetting about his presence.

Completely surprised at her sudden change of mood, he began to think about how freaky the female population was growing to. "Weirdo…" he mumbled under his breath, as he entered the cafeteria.

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That night Kaoru went to work. She was uncertain on weather she should have gone for that walk-in interview at first, but after being reminded about her financial state, she just went through it and amazingly she got the job.

Talk _about_ luck. Well, it's either that, or they were desperate for waitresses. Whatever it was, at least she got the job.

She took the night shift, so that she could adjust with school. It was from five o' clock in the evening, until eleven o' clock at night for five dollars an hour.

The first night was pretty busy, as the joint was flooded with hungry customers. She kept on taking orders behind the counter non-stop from adults, young adults, veterans, and even children.

When the night was over, she sat down in the staff room, feeling weary and exhausted. After changing into her clothes, Mrs.Tae, the owner, and her boss, came in.

"Good job on your first night, Kaoru! I'm very pleased with your performance!" she praised, sending her new worker flushing.

She handed Kaoru thirty dollars, or what she called it -her hard-earned labor. She took it gratefully.

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The next day after school, Kaoru walked to Soujiro's house -together with him of course, to start the science project.

"Did you bring any notes about frogs?" Soujiro asked.

"No, but I did bring a _book_ about frogs…"

"You're a froggy person?"

"Absolutely not. My mother gave this to me when I was very young. She said this would help me 'expand my knowledge'."

He grinned, as they continued chatting. When they reached Soujiro's house, Kaoru was startled. _'This is his house? That would mean..' _

"He's back! Look, look! He's baaack! Sou-chan, Sou-chan!" A little girl screamed out as she stuffed her face in between the gates. Drawing out her hands, she waved it wildly, as if reaching to touch his uniform.

Soujiro laughed at the sight in front of him.

In a matter of seconds, an accomplice ran out and copied her older sister's actions.

"Sou-chaaaaan! Open the gate quiccckly! Qui-" They started wailing, but stopped in mid-sentence when they noticed _his_ friend that was beside him. Realizing who _his_ friend was, their eyes grew bigger in excitement as their smiles grew wider.

"Kao!! Kao nee-chan!!" the younger one squealed in delight. Impatiently waiting for Soujiro to open the gates, the two children certainly did not keep quiet.

"You… Know my sisters?" Soujiro asked, face visibly puzzled. He opened the gates, and straight away the two little rascals were attached to Kaoru's legs, like how a magnet would attract metal.

She started laughing, as she tried walking with one child hanging on one leg, and another child on the other. "Let's just say we met unexpectedly one fine morning."

He smiled, as he ushered her in his house. It was a pretty house, everything was neat and tidy.

After eating lunch (that consisted slices of tuna sandwiches), they started working on their scrapbook, -Kaoru writing down the information while Soujiro searched for valuable information.

There were, in some point of their work, where they took a break or two, and cracked corny jokes. Though it was lamely amusing, she was comfortable, and she did at least enjoy herself. He was nice and polite, and most of all, he smiles hell alot. She wanted to ask him why was he always so smiley, but she resolved that question for another time.

Three hours passed by quickly, and Kaoru reminded herself that she had to leave since she had to get ready for work in an hour's time, after checking her watch.  
After announcing her departure, they chatted for a while longer before he led her downstairs to the door.

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"Are you going to the game tonight?" A brown-haired male asked his red-headed friend.

He just shook his head back in response.

"I can't. Gotta' stay at home and finish up some assignments."

"I thought you were the type that finishes homework as soon as you get them?" He asked, feigning shock as a small grin graced his features.

"I was busy." He answered flatly.

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A certain red head was sitting in his room, completing all his unfinished school work. He had caught a bad cold, and every time he tried to write, a sneeze will emerge out from his nostrils and his handwriting would get out of place.

Noticing his dilemma, his mother strictly told him to stay in bed. He had no choice, but to do what he was told (She was his mother, after all).

And the conclusion of this whole episode was that now, he had to spend long hours finishing up three days of homework -in one evening.

As he closed his notebook shut –an indication that he was done, he started feeling every corner of his brain being drained out. Algebra was from hell, he groaned. But at least trigonometry was always there to make his life easier. Then there were polygons and graph functions.

Oh Lord, help me.

But at least he was done, for the meantime.

Getting up, he walked down to the kitchen with the intention to grab some grub. He was very hungry, and his stomach had demanded continually –"Feed me, FEED ME!" for the past five minutes. And he didn't like to keep his tummy waiting.

After rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator (his sanctuary), he found no food, to his dismay. Grunting about his situation, he was suddenly reminded about the nursery rhyme he used to sing to himself when he was little, when his mother was out and he was left alone in the house unfed.

_Old Mother Hubbard, went to the cupboard, _

To fetch her poor dog a bone.

But when she got there, the cupboard was bare,

And so the poor dog had none.

So _if_ supposedly, he wereto be the dog -metaphorically speaking of course, who was here to act as Mother Hubbard?  
As he headed towards the living room looking for a Mother Hubbard, one cord struck.

What was he _doing_?

Here he was, a seventeen year-old, looking for a non-existent Mother Hubbard.

_It's the maths. _He blamed. _Two and a half hours of mathematics straight can cause brain damage._

They were so terrorizing, they actually manage to get pass his sensibility. Deciding to forget the whole thing, and pretend that it never happened, he crushed some paper notes into his pockets, and left the house in a blink of an eye.

To find some food.

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**AN**: Revieeew! Please? :D


	3. 003

**AN**: Remember, this is a revamped fiction! :)

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**Chapter 3  
**"Greetings from Akabeko sir. Food edible, prices reasonable. What would you like to have?" Kaoru asked robotically behind the counter, not bothering to look up.  
Starring at her notepad, she waited for the customer to order. 

She was tired, exhausted, and craved for sleep. _Only one hour left_, she told herself. After that the night would be over, and she'll get her pay, then she'll head home and rest.

Impatiently tapping her pencil on her notepad, she waited for a response. Upon not receiving one, she looked up to see what was taking so long. Her eyes registered surprise when she saw a familiar face.

There was a silence, when both faces just looked at each other. She was mostly gazing into his eyes, his stunningly attractive eyes, and vice versa. It was more like a trance, or hypnotism, whichever you would rather call it.

And she called those eyes _blind_?

Snapping out of whatever she was feeling, she opened her mouth.

"Are you here to bang me down again?" she questioned, a hint of humor in her voice.

She knew that was a ridiculous question to ask, but she just couldn't seem to help it. Her side of bad sense humor usually got the best of her.  
It perks up curiosity, and anyway, it always made her life more interesting.

"No, I'm here to eat. You?" Was the slow reply.

As if her uniform wasn't clear enough on what she was here for.

"I'm here to take a bath and feed the pigs. What do you think I'm here for?"

She could have sworn she saw a tint of pink shade appearing on his face. But his jaw was set to a firm line, eyes narrowing and his fingers were drumming on the counter surface.

"Okay, okay. Sorry bout that. Now, what would you like to have?"

Silence.

"Set 1. And make that large."

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After he was done with his meal, his mind told him to get up, and go. And he was about to comply, when he saw his classmate holding a tray filled with food, looking for a place to sit. 

Glancing at the vacant seat on his table, his sixth sense told him that she would be joining him in a matter of moments.

So he lingered awhile longer, pretending that he was still eating. And sure enough, two minutes later she was sitting in front of him, gobbling down her burger hungrily. The poor creature looked like she hadn't been fed for days.

None of them spoke, as a comfortable silence embraced them. Well, it _had_ to be comfortable, since she wasn't paying any attention to him, but to the coke and fries.

"What's your name?" he suddenly asked unthinkingly.

When she heard his voice, she stopped munching. She looked up, face blank. Blinking at him, she thought silently about his question, as she felt a vein pop.

'_He doesn't know my name?_ _Then what the HELL is the use of introductions in class period after period?'_

He was waiting for an answer, but she was not giving one. She could sense that he was growing impatient, and she guessed that he was a person who hated being ignored.

"Kaoru." She said at last.

He looked confused.

"My name. Kamiya Kaoru is my name."

It's either he's slow and stupid, or he just forgot that he asked a question, since she took such a long time to answer. Shaking her head, she continued consuming her food, unaware that he too, opened his mouth to speak.

"My name is Kenshin. Himura Kenshin."

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When she finished eating, she patted her tummy, feeling satisfied as she let out a sigh. She was hungry, and she was fed. Now she's sleepy, so she should be sleeping.  
Getting up to a standing position, she thanked him. 

"Thank you for accompanying me for dinner."

He gave her a lopsided smile, a small one, but she caught it nonetheless. She smiled in reply, and left for the staffroom. She changed her clothes, and gathered her things. After collecting her pay, she proceeded towards the exit, but to her utmost surprise, Kenshin still there, by the exit, just… standing there.

She walked up to him, and tapped him on the shoulder. As soon as he lifted his head, –"What are you still doing here?"

He blinked, and answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Waiting for you."

"For what?"

"Girls like you shouldn't go home at night alone. It's… not safe."

Normally girls would probably feel special, or blush even, since it was an undeniably flattering statement –if you would look at it from a small angle. She should have been happy, or grateful for that even.

There was a pause.

The next thing he knew, she was glaring at him.

"Girls, like _me_?" she hissed. "What is _that_ suppose to mean?"

He blinked.

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Well, even though she had protested, insulted, and mocked him for wanting to "walk her home", here she was, walking side by side with him, heading towards her house.

They were enduring a silence, yet again, and she decided that his character did not include being a chatterbox. He was more of the aloof, calm and collected, Mr. cool-type-of-person. She glanced at him, and saw that he had a distant look, as if deep in thought, as if… he was thinking about a past, a past that hurt.

She snorted.

A past that hurt? _What_ past? He's only seventeen, for goodness sake. There's no way he would have a "past" to haunt him. He's too young for that. She would re-consider that thought if he was thirty, or something like that.

Though she was, curious on how he got that scar on his left cheek. The cut looked quite deep, and she wondered -what was the cause of it? She was itching to ask, but decided it would be improper to ask. It might be a touchy subject anyway.

Her house was just a few blocks away, and she was thinking about the bath she was planning to take. A nice warm bath, to sooth her nerves. And then there was her bed.

She sighed.

She could not wait to get under those covers. The mere thought about it made her want to reach home even faster. Marveling with her own thoughts concerning comfort, she was jerked away from them awkwardly when he spoke up.

"Why are you working?" he asked quietly.

She was astonished, seeing that the question came out of no where. She remained silent, not wanting to answer that question. But then again, she felt something tingling inside, reassuring her -to just tell him. Two different decisions battling inside, wondering which one to pick.

"Why would you want to know?" she asked casually, raising an eyebrow.

He merely shrugged.

"I just think that you shouldn't be working, that's all."

Unknowingly, she let out a tiny smile, as her eyes looked straight ahead.

"I'm just having some financial problems," was all she was willing to offer in her reply. It was brief, but it was true.

Her smile grew a little bit wider, when he nodded in understanding.

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"Would you like to watch "Monsters Inc." with me? My mom won four tickets in a contest, and I was thinking that maybe you would like to go and watch it with me and the twins this coming Friday." Soujiro asked, and then stopped to catch his breath. 

She was about to decline because she had work, but then she remembered Friday was her day off.

"Sure, why not? I haven't seen a movie in ages." She grinned.

"Okay then. I'll pick you up at eight."

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And sure enough at eight o' clock sharp, her doorbell rang. Checking her appearances from head to toe again, she ran to the front door and swung it open. Soujiro was standing there, smiling, while his two younger sisters beamed at her excitedly. 

"C'mon Kao-nee, let's GO!" Ayame said eagerly.

"Well, someone's enthusiastic today." She replied, laughing.

Closing and locking the door shut behind her, they headed towards the cinemas. They had an hour to spare before the movie started, so they dropped by McDonalds to grab a bite.

When they finished, they hurried to the cinema, arriving just on time. Soujiro bought two popcorns and two cokes, and the twins insisted on sharing a bag of pop corn and coke. So he and Kaoru had to share the rest.

It was a fun-filled movie, as squeals of laughter constantly boomed through the cinema. There were times when Kaoru was about to take a sip of from her (and, his) coke, when Soujiro would be thinking about the same thing. Their hands would brush together momentary, and their cheeks would redden upon the brief touch.

The movie ended at approximately 11 o' clock, and the twins were already sleeping. Their bedtime was ten thirty, after all. Walking from the cinema to Kaoru's house, both were chatting softly as not to awaken the sleeping children.

Soujiro was carrying Ayame, while she was carrying the other one. Upon reaching their destination, Kaoru gave him his sister back.

"I'll see you in school next week," he whispered. "Good night, and sweet dreams!"

She smiled at him, and whispered back, "Same to you."

And with that, she entered her house, closing the door quietly behind her. She went upstairs to her room, and drifted off to sweet slumber as soon as her head touched her pillow.

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**AN**: :)


	4. 004

**AN**: Remember, this is a revamped fiction! :)

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**Chapter 4**

It was Monday, the day she despised the most in a week. Not only does this particular day starts off _another _week, but her classes on Monday were boring and uninteresting, and the idea of going through them were not at all appealing.

Sighing to herself, she walked through the busy halls, a textbook in her hand.

"Good morning, Kaoru!" a cheery voice greeted her. She looked up, and couldn't help but smile at the cheerfulness Soujiro was displaying at 7.30 in the morning.

"Good morning, Soujiro." She greeted back.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

She was about to answer, but her stomach beat her to it by letting out a growl. She smiled sheepishly, and he laughed, "Well, I guess you haven't then."

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Soujiro and Kaoru were at the school canteen, ordering some breakfast. It was an unusual sight, seeing the canteen so empty. Usually it would be flooded by people who would be chatting away with their companions and friends.

He ordered a tuna sandwich, and she followed suit. After Kaoru argued and insisted that she could pay for her own breakfast (but lost the fight terribly to Soujiro since he was part of the debate team), they grabbed a table at the far end corner of the canteen, and sat down.

Eating while conversing to one another, it was plainly enjoyable. They were talking about alot of things under the sun, from Soujiro's childhood tale to elephants, bananas to musical instruments, ice cream to toilet paper.

It wasn't a surprise that they were not aware of the bell ringing when it did. Too absorbed with their conversation, everything just seemed to have faded around them. And the funny thing was, because of where their table was located, the canteen workers did not notice that they were even there.

"…Telling me that it was my fault, So I told her, this is absu-" he was halfway telling her one of his amusing stories, when his eye caught hold of the ticking clock on the wall. His eyes widened abit, but after a few seconds, his face broke into a huge grin. Kaoru looked at him quizzically, and after noticing her look of confusion, he asked rather slowly,

"Do you know what time is it?"

"Well, it has to be ar-" she replied, but stopped as she glanced at her watch.

"Oh hell no." she muttered, slapping her forehead as realization seeped in.

"Heaven yes." He replied, laughing. It was ten o' clock, just ten minutes away from recess. They've been sitting and talking for about two and a half hours, she thought, groaning inwardly. Wondering what in the world was she going to explain to her teachers later for not showing up in class, she frowned.

Oh wonderful time it would be.

"Since we're only a few minutes away from recess, why not just return back to classes after recess?

She leaned back, and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And to think that I half expected you to panic, but you look like you've done this a million times-"

He grinned.

"-…before."

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During recess, Soujiro and Kaoru came up with a plan to escape detention from cutting class.

Kaoru entered the nurse's office, while her partner in crime sneaked in quietly, without the nurse knowing.

Letting out a dramatic "Oh!", Kaoru pretended to faint as she dropped to the floor. Straight away the nurse rushed to her aid, asking her if she was alright, telling her repeatedly to inhale and exhale.

While the scene was mid-way unfolding, Soujiro quickly went over to the table and grabbed two slips silently. He slipped out of room, and gave Kaoru the thumbs up sign. Noticing it at the corner of her eye, she slowly got up, and assured the nurse that she was okay.

As she excited the room, she hurriedly went to Soujiro's side. "I can't believe I just did that." She huffed.

He grinned, as he handed her a pen to fill in the appropriate spaces in the slip.

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When school ended, Kaoru was all smiles. Knowingly that she had developed a small crush with Soujiro all this while, their "act" today just led her infatuation with him one step higher. Walking out of the school gates, she was not paying attention as she hummed to herself.

And sure enough, she banged into someone, someone no taller than her, someone with fiery-orangey hair, someone… who just loves to knock into her.

"Dammit." Both of them mumbled simultaneously. Whipping their heads up, Kaoru sighed tiredly as she saw who she bumped into.

"We really got to stop meeting like this, you know?" she said as a matter of fact.

He let out a soundless chuckle, nodding his head in agreement.

"So, why are you heading back to the school compound anyways?" She asked curiously.

"Book, Class, Left it." Came the very much lazy reply.

"You're a man who loves to paint a picture that's worth a million words, aren't you?"

"………………………………………………."

"That sure answers everything."

"………………………………………………."

"And oh yes, did I mention your silence is truly astounding?"

"………………………………………………."

"Anyway, while you stand here and not say a word while I blabber away, I got to go now."

"………………………………………………."

"I just love talking to a brick wall, don't you?"

"………………………………………………."

"Goodbye Kenshin," Kaoru sighed, giving up as she walked away.

When she was out of eyesight, he secretly smiled to himself as he went back to class to retrieve his book.

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"Class, you have a new student today," The substitute teacher announced to the noisy class. "She's all the way from Kyoto too," he added. "So let's welcome Miss Misao Makimachi!"

Kaoru nearly fell down the chair.

'_Oh God, could it be her?'_ she wondered, as excitement and anxiety filled her senses.

"Kaoru, are you alright?" Soujiro whispered, after sensing the sudden change of mood in Kaoru's face.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Don't worry bout me." Came the distracted reply, as she waved him off.

The new student entered the class shyly, as she whispered a soft "hello". The class chorused a "hi" in reply.

Scanning the room filled with her new classmates, she heard a stifled scream at the back of the class. Eyes quickly darting to where it came from, she spotted a familiar face. Her eyes widened in surprise, hands covering her mouth to stop her screams from emerging.

The teacher, not knowing what was going on -since he was standing behind her, told her to sit at the empty seat (which ironically,) was in front of Kaoru. He told the class to "continue doing their own work," as he went back to the table to resume filling out his report.

The class resumed back to "doing their own work," which was, being noisy.

Misao practically flew to the seat, and straight away jerked her head to face her childhood friend. "Oh Gosh, I can't believe you're here!!" she squealed delightfully. Kaoru grinned, as she gave her a light hug.

"So what are you doing back here in Tokyo?" Kaoru asked, when Misao settled herself down.

"Dad's job got transferred back here. So I guess I'm staying for good, this time." She replied, grinning ear to ear.

"Awwh, man! Damn," she replied smiling, feigning disappointment.

Misao laughed, as she punched her shoulder playfully. "We've got a lot of catching up to do, weather you like it, or not."

-

When school ended, the two friends were still yakking about anything and everything, making up for lost time. "Say, where are you going now, Kao?"

"Home. Why?"

"I have to go do some stuff. Want to come along? Maybe we can have lunch together or something."

"Sure, but I have to go home first though. I'll need to tell my mom that I won't be staying for lunch."

"Okay then. I wouldn't mind dropping by to pay your mom a visit anyway. And after that –we'll party all night long till dawn breaks! It's been a hell of a long time since you and I did stuff together!" she replied, a small glint dancing in her blue-green eyes.

Kaoru bit her lip. So she forgot to tell her. Shit.

"Um, Misao? I think I might have left out something… Something you still don't know about." Kaoru started. She knew how this would end up. Drastic.

"Hmm? What, you forgot to buy a toothbrush?" she asked humorously.

"Nothing like that." She paused, exhaling. "I have work to go to in the evening."

Silence.

"WHAT???!?!?"

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So the weather man proved himself accurately correct today. Predicting that thunderstorms were to erupt in the neighborhood, advising that everyone should keep their windows shut. And perfect timing too, she thought sourly.

As soon as the news about her working processed through Misao's brain, she could feel small water droplets on her head.

She had been working at other places before back then. Misao had greatly detested the idea about her working, ever since one of her perverted employers' tried to take advantage and make a move on her. Luckily Misao was there witnessing the whole scene, as she gave the employer a powerful black eye.

But she _needs _the money, it's an undeniable fact. Sighing deeply as she left Akabeko, she headed home in the midst of the night.

As she reached her house, she saw a figure sitting down at her doorstep.

"Misao? Is that you?"

Misao's head whipped around, jumping up. Kaoru walked over to where Misao was, and before she could utter a word, Misao opened her mouth started talking, face downcast.

"I'm really sorry Kao. I know I shouldn't have stormed off this afternoon. It's just that I was… well… You know I just don't like you working." She finished, looking up.

Much to her relief, Kaoru all but smiled broadly in response.

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**AN**: Please review!


	5. 005

**AN**: Remember, this is a revamped fiction! :)

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The following day, -at approximately six thirty in the morning, Kaoru stirred from her sleep after her dreams were being interrupted by a doorbell ringing furiously. She turned over to the left.

'_Damn neighbor. Must be their door_.'

A few seconds later, she heard a doorbell ringing fiercely again, but this time it was being rung longer. She turned over to the right.

'_The other neighbor. Has to be the other neighbor.'_

Silence.

'_Finally.'_

"KAORU, IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE DOOR THIS INSTANT I'M GOING TO BREAK IT DOWN AND KICK YOUR ASS TILL YOU WAKE UP!!!"

'_Is… that my door?' _

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"_Seriously_ Misao. You should stop your habit of waking up people before they can even see the sun." Kaoru mumbled, glaring at Misao.

"But it was already six thirty! And you want to sleep some more?" Misao defended, making it seem as if it was the most obscene thing to do.

Kaoru merely raised an eyebrow.

"If it weren't for me, you would have been late for school."

"School starts at _eight_. From my house to school is only a _ten minute walk_," Kaoru replied, emphasizing necessary words to get her point through.

"But, what _if_ you woke up at seven thirty and on your way to school there was a parade, and all the roadsides to school were blocked? You'll definitely be late to school then."

"I –seriously- doubt it."

"Fine, have it your way. When that happens don't come crying to me," Misao pouted.

"You can bet your socks that it won't be happening anytime soon." Kaoru replied grinning.

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When the girls reached the school gates, they decided to enter their classroom and continue chatting from there, seeing they had half an hour to spare. Misao was about to go to her seat, when someone two to three heads taller, with brownish spiky hair residing on his head, stood in her way.

"AHEM," she cleared her throat loudly. The culprit turned around and bent his head down slightly to see who dared disturb him -face to face. Misao was about to tell him to move, when she recognized him.

Apparently he did too.

"YOU!!" Both of them yelled in unison, pointing their index fingers shakily.

The few students around them who were chatting noisily to their friend two seconds ago quieted down, and looked at source of the yelling.

"What are you doing here?!"

"What are **YOU** doing here?"

"I'm from this class."

"**I'M** from this class."

"This can't be happening." Misao scowled, groaning inwardly.

"This has to be some kind of nightmare. I mean, meeting up with _the_ human-like weasel is just too much for me to t- OWWWWW!!" He screeched, after he was rudely cut short by a shoe which slapped him straight on the face.

The impact was so powerful, it sent him sprawling across the floor.

"Watch the _language_, you brainless chicken. Say that again and I'll be wearing golf shoes tomorrow."

He moaned in pain, rubbing his now very red and injured face while Misao put her shoe back on.

"Sano, you alright?" Kenshin asked as he came over, helping his friend up.

"Not quite."

"Of all the people to meet up again-" Misao sighed rubbing her temples.

"I had to meet up with-" Sano continued, "You." both of them growled.

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When the horrible, horrible day ended (line narrated by Misao), she was full of complaints and ramblings about how God was being so unfair.

"The world is so big. So BIG," Misao stated, illustrating by stretching both her hands to the opposite directions as wide as she could.

"And yet the world is so damn small." She squinted her eyes through the tiny hole in between her index finger and her thumb.

Kaoru laughed. "How did you know him anyway?"

Misao sighed as she stuffed her hands inside her pockets. "A year ago while I was still studying in Kyoto, I attended to this school called Hiwamasaki. It was cool and all, pretty building with friendly people. It was also in that school where I met-"

"-the damned weasel from hell." Sano told Kenshin as they headed to the Ice Cream Parlor. Kenshin nodded, and he continued on.

"We were in the same class, and we were sitting together as well. And man, she was an annoying one. We used to argue over petty things, and compete in everything all the time. And come to think of it, _SHE_ was the one who-"

"-gave me the nickname Weasel." Misao recalled frowning. "Later on he shifted, and I didn't know where, nor did I care."

"And now, now he's in my class!" she cried.

"Maa, maa. Maybe… he's changed into a different person? A nicer one, perhaps. Say, would you like some ice cream to cool down?" Kaoru asked, hoping to cheer up Misao's mood.

"Oh God, yes please."

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"I would like a triple scoop ice cream, -Lemon, Vanilla and Peppermint. Extra chocolate rice, extra cherry, extra whip cream and extra strawberry topping. And oh, could you put a cherry on that as well?" Sano ordered, digging his pocket for a twenty dollar note.

The waitress behind the counter chuckled.

After paying, Sano took his ice cream and sat at one of the tables. Kenshin followed behind, licking his chocolate cone.

They were sitting at a four seating table. Sano starred at the two empty seats and looked at Kenshin, who was sitting opposite him.

"You know, I _seriously_ have a bad feeling about this........."

"You worry too much."

"I guess so." Sano shrugged, as he wolfed down his ice cream.

-

"Goodness Kaoru, look at the crowd!"

"Yeah, I know. It would be a miracle to get seats."

After the both of them got their ice cream, they hunted for a place to sit. "Kaoru, look!" Misao squealed, pointing as her eyes spotted two empty seats. "Must be heaven sent!"

The two of them made their way through, quickly sitting down. "I can't believe it, we actually got seats!" Misao said happily, ready to dig into her order.

"Oh… _Shit_."

Kaoru and Misao turned their heads to the source of the voice. Misao's eyes flew wide open. Kaoru was now on Kenshin's right, while Misao was… on Sanosuke's left.

"This really bites." Misao sighed, as she rested her head on her hand that was standing on the table. "The word 'fate' is up. My. Ass."

"_See _Kenshin? I told you the two empty seats would be bad omen." Sano complained.

"................................"

Before five minutes could even pass, Sano and Misao had already started bickering, not bothering about the stares they received. When Kenshin and Kaoru finished their portion of ice cream, their companions' ice cream looked disgusting as it melted away. They were still fighting over what, only the Lord knew.

Kenshin glanced sideways at Kaoru, who looked bored out of her mind. Quietly he called her, tapping her shoulders. She turned to look at him, and he whispered something in her ear.

She starred at him for a while, wondering if he was serious. Not finding a HAH!-obviously-I'm-joking look, she was about to protest when she could still hear Misao's voice, yelling at Sano.

Then –"I'd be glad to."

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* * *

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They were walking side by side, both quiet as Kaoru wondered where he would be taking her.

They had slipped out (and under Sano and Misao's noses too.) of the ice cream parlor, and decided to do something more constructive than just sitting there, and listen to their friends quarrel.

"So… Where are we going?"

"Lake Park."

"Where's that?"

"Around the corner."

"Oh."

Silence.

"And… Why are we going there?"

"Cause' it's the only place I can think of."

"Why is that?"

"You talk too much." He suddenly said, pausing to look at her. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. Just, pokerfaced.

She glared at him. "Well, at least I'm using the 'blessing' that God gave me -not like someone here who is too arrogant to use it at all."

He glared back.

She glared even harder.

Moments passed by, and both just stood there, glaring at each other.

Then sighing deeply, she unwillingly gave in. "Fine, fine, I'm sorry. Now, can we go to wherever you were planning to take us?" she asked, as she started walking ahead of him.

-

Meanwhile, back at the ice cream parlor… (**10 minutes later**)

"Yes, I DID beat you in Maths! I remember you scored a thirty one, and I got an eighty seven!" Misao retorted.

"NO, I DID NOT GET A THIRTY ONE! I got a thirty three!" Sano shot back.

Misao burst out laughing, and Sano sat there, sulking. Then suddenly, he remembered-

"BUT I beat you in art! HAH. I got a ninety two for my painting!" Sano boasted proudly.

"My ass. You got a ninety two, for that piece of junk?" she asked, a look of disbelief gracing her features.

"It was not a piece of junk!"

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"Then what did you get for English?"

"Eighty three. I studied or that!" he replied, grinning.

"Not enough. I got an eighty five! IN, YOUR, FACE!"

"You copied."

"No I didn't. _You_ copied."

"No, you did."

"YOU did."

9 minutes later.

"You still owe me 15 cents for that ugly eraser you bought!"

"No, I borrowed from Akira. I would never borrow anything from _you_."

"YOU DID!"

"I DID NOT!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!!"

"Did too!"

2 minutes later.

"Did too!"

"Did not!!"

"Did too!"

"Did not! Kenshin, tell her I did not!" Sano exclaimed, expecting defense. Turning his head to Kenshin's seat, an "eh?" escaped his throat. Then he looked left and right. "Kenshin?"

Misao tuned as well, and there was no Kaoru.

Silence.

"They ditched us!" Both of them cried.

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When Kaoru and Kenshin reached Lake Park, (a lake in the middle of a park), Kaoru just stood there, stunned by how beautiful a simple lake could be. The water was clean, calm, and it had a glossy feeling.

Seeing her reaction, he smiled despite of himself. Leaning against a tree, he sat down on the grass, pulling her down with him.

"The scenery here is beautiful. Wonder why I hadn't noticed it before." she thought aloud, as she sat cross-legged.

"You should see it at night. It's even more beautiful, ands sometimes they even have fireworks."

She gave him a small smile, as the word "fireworks" convinced her to tell him about the time when she saw them outside her house. Describing their wild range of colours and the flowery patterns, he just sat there and listened.

Once in a while he would nod his head, encouraging her to go on. Time went by very quickly, and evening came. The two were very much enjoying each other's company, as it somehow gave them a feeling of ease and comfort.

He would too, at some points open up and tell her things. It wasn't much, but at least he did his share of talking. She was quite surprised, that this ignorant bastard could actually be quite talkative if he wanted to be.

Though she did wonder, why he was so arrogant most of the time? He hardly showed his emotions, since usually there would only be a blank look on his face. It was unreadable, and it wasn't easy to actually get his face to show.. _something_.

Finally noticing the sky, she bit back an urge to curse. Quickly looking at her watch, her eyes widened. "Oh shit."

But she did anyway.

Kenshin was a little surprised by her sudden change of expression, but his facial features didn't show anything. She abruptly got up, and grabbed her bag.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm late for work! I was suppose to be there at seven! Gyaah I'm so dead..." Kaoru answered, turned around, and sprinted towards Akabeko.

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**AN**: Please be kind enough and leave me a review. Thaank yoou! :)


	6. 006

**AN**: Remember, this is a revamped fiction! :)

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**Chapter 6  
**The next morning while Kaoru was on her way to school, she heard a very fierce, angry shout, that sent pigeons flying off to the other direction.

"Kamiya Kaoru you STOP there this instant!"

She stopped walking and turned, only to face a shoulder-slumped Misao storming towards her.

"You," Misao pointed an accusing finger, "dumped me, yesterday, at the ice cream parlor." She said evenly, but her tone was directly putting her to blame.

Kaoru narrowed her eyes.

"You were too busy entertaining Sano to even _notice_ that I was still there, weren't you? And keep that finger away, you know I hate that." Kaoru snapped, slapping Misao's finger away.

"But it still doesn't mean you can just LEAVE me like that! And you didn't even say a word!" she retorted.

"I didn't intend on leaving. Kenshin was the man behind the master plan." Kaoru replied, casually continuing her journey to school."

Misao's anger died down. "You mean he… he pulled you out of there?"

"No, he did not _pull_ me out of there. He just… asked me if I wanted to follow him instead of sitting there and listen to you and Sano throwing insults at each other."

Misao grinned.

Uh-oh.

"Don't even start," Kaoru warned, before Misao could even open her mouth. "It was just a friendly gesture."

She snickered in reply. "Aww, C'mon Kao. You should know better than that."

"He was just being nice, and it did _not_ mean anything! Godliness, why do you like to jump into conclusions?" Kaoru grunted.  
As expected, that statement was worthless, since it did not convince Misao otherwise. She then started to babble about Kenshin's good points, and how Kaoru should go after him.

All she could do was roll her eyes, and walk straight ahead.

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It was English period, and the teacher was late for class. Soujiro smartly took that advantage to ask Kaoru out. He had been practicing the same lines over and over again, trying to gain confidence into doing so.

But somehow, it did not work.

"Say, um… Kaoru? Are you, uh... f-free?" Soujiro coughed, looking down.

"Now?"

"No, no, no. I um… meant… this… uh… well… I meant this… e-evening." He said shyly, face red as a ripe tomato.

"Yes, I'm free the whole day. Why?" She asked, blinking. They had already completed their science project a week ago, way ahead of their deadline. So why would he want to know her schedule if they have already finished their work?

"Well… I was wondering… WONDERING… if you would like to… uh… watch a movie with me? But if you don't want to it's fine! I totally understand that you wouldn't want to, and it's not an obli-" he explained hurriedly.

"Is it like a… a… Date?" Kaoru cut in, as her brain started clicking.

He coughed.

"If you would like to put it that way, then, yes." He replied, face burning.

She was startled at his invitation to go out with him on a… a _date._ Nevertheless, she felt something twinge in her stomach, as excitement jumped up and down inside. It was a first time that her _crush_ asked _her_ out. Oh yeah, definitely happy.

"S-Sure, I'd love to… go on a date with you." She squeaked, as her face started to redden.

"GREAT! I'll pick you up at eight!"

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Two days ago, Tae had told Kaoru about her new working schedule. She were to only work on Mondays till Thursdays, and her pay would remain the same, since they had new workers.

That was why she had free time to go out with Soujiro. And perfect timing too, she grinned to herself.

-

That night, they purchased two tickets to watch "Seabiscuit". All the other options were horror films, and Kaoru, a great coward of horror movies, refused to watch any of them. Soujiro didn't mind, of course.

On the ticket, it read "Cinema 10". The searched for Cinema room 10, found it, and entered. As they sat, the movie began.

In the beginning of the screening, there was a pale, terrified woman dressed in a white night gown, lying on the ground. She was screaming in pain, as she was about to give birth. Suddenly, a man walked though the door, tortured her without mercy, and killed her.

Kaoru was horrified. '_What type of comedy is this?!' _

And that was just the prologue, to her dismay. During the movie, the scenes were eerily disgusting, scary and terrifying, sending shivers up her spine. Kaoru closed her eyes almost all the way through the movie. The sound system was fantastic, making the movie seem more real.

At the end of the show, Kaoru was filled with fear, as she cringed onto Soujiro's jacket tightly.

"Don't worry, Kaoru, it was just a movie." He assured, offering her a smile.

Kaoru nodded, and then she saw the advertisement outside the cinema. It was a picture of an English man sitting on a horse. and the huge title "Seabiscuit" caught her eye. But there were no horses during the movie, not at all. She told Soujiro, and he too was confused. Seabiscuit was supposed to be an English movie, but the movie they saw was in Japanese.

They then saw another advertisement outside, and it read "The number one best selling horror movie, The WR." The images matched the scenes that they watched, and everything fell into place.

"We entered the wrong cinema!" Soujiro laughed.

But to Kaoru, this was no laughing matter. She was just so sure she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. When it came to horror movies, no matter how pathetic they were, she was just so afraid of them.

Soujiro noticed this, and he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, and anyway, you closed your eyes through out the movie, didn't you?" he teased.

Kaoru laughed, realizing that he was right. But her thoughts could not go any further as she felt his very warm hand holding hers.

She blushed.

"Want to go get some hot chocolate?" Soujiro asked, smiling.

"Definitely. I could use one right now."

-

It was a wonderful night, in her opinion. As soon as they reached the door, she was disappointed that the night ended so fast, even though it was already close to twelve midnight.

She boldly kissed him oh the cheek goodbye, smiled sheepishly, and opened the door. But before she could to step foot inside, he opened his mouth.

"W-Wait!"

Slowly she turned her head, and he asked daringly. "Would you like to go out with me again?"

There was a small pause, when the offer sunk into her brain, processing the data. She starred at him, he starred at her. It seemed that everything had stopped.

And much to his delight, her face broke into a grin.

-

It was about one thirty in the morning, when Misao's phone started ringing furiously. She woke up with a start, but decided to ignore it, as her head descended back to her fluffy pillow. She was sleepy, and decided to go back to sleep, thinking that the caller would leave her alone if she didn't pick up.

But the phone disagreed.

It was ringing and ringing, forcing Misao to get up, and pick up the phone.

Yanking herself up, she exclaimed in annoyance –"I swear I'm going to send this phone to hell."

Swinging her blankets away vigorously, she grabbed the handle. "WHAAAT?!??!!!"

"Misao! Misao, Misao, Misao!! Guess what happened?" the other end of the line screamed excitedly, causing her to jerk the phone away from her precious eardrums.

"Urhh.. K-Kaoru? Are you drunk or something?" She asked groggily.

"Of course not, silly! Well, aren't you going to guess what happened?"

"I guess, that you would put the phone down and stop calling me until I wake up later in the morning before I go over to your house and burn it down right after I trash all the alcohol." She replied, yawning. Yet unbelievably she did not even stop to catch her breath.

There was a pause.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but I'm willing to give you another try."

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"Oh Kaoru, I'm so happy for you!" Misao exclaimed happily.

Kaoru grinned. "I never would thought that Soujiro would ask me out again."

Misao smiled, sincerely feeling ecstatic for her friend. _She needs something to brighten up her life_, Misao thought to herself.

Then suddenly, a figure caught her keen eye, causing her to loose concentration in an abrupt halt to what Kaoru was talking about.

"Misao, Misao? Are you listening to me?" Kaoru asked, waving her hand in front of Misao's face. Her friend looked like she was caught in a trance, with widened eyes without blinking. She was about to turn around to where she was looking at, when someone called her.

"Hey, are you Kamiya Kaoru?" a male voice rang in her ears. She turned to where the voice came from, only to see Shinomori Aoshi gazing at her.

"Yes, this is she."

"You left this at the library last period." He said stoically, handing Kaoru her English textbook.

"Oh, I was looking everywhere for that. Thanks." She smiled, taking her book away from his hands.

Aoshi just nodded in reply and walked away.

After Aoshi was out of sight, Kaoru turned around to where her friend was sitting. To her surprise, Misao was all but gawking. At her.

"What, do I have something on my face?"

-

"Full name?"

"Aoshi Shinomori."

"How do you know him?"

"He's the co-president at the school library."

"Single or taken?"

"Don't know."

"Personality?"

"Not sure. He's quite aloof though."

"Siblings?"

"How am I suppose to know?"

"Phone number?"

"Never asked."

"Address?"

"How should I know?"

"Pets?"

".................................."

"What about his class schedule?"

".................................."

"Friends?"

".................................."

"Favorite food? Drinks? What about his favorite colour?"

".................................."

"His interests?"

".................................."

-

Five minutes and twenty seconds later

"Location of his locker?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Kaoru cried out in irritation, throwing her hands in the air.

"What about his favorite subjects?"

".................................."

"Do you talk to him often? Is he rich?"

".................................."

"Does he play sports? Is he smart?"

".................................."

"Does he have a fan club?"

".................................."

"Oh man, do you think I have a crush on him?" Misao asked suddenly, blinking.

Kaoru stopped walking, and glared at her. Hard.

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When school ended, Kaoru decided to walk around school. After telling Misao over and over again that she does not know anymore information of Shinomori Aoshi other than his name and position in school, Misao decided to let her go reluctantly.  
Kaoru started to chuckle at the thought.

Kaoru reached the basketball court, and slowly, but gracefully, she climbed up to the highest bench, and seated herself. No one was playing basketball, heck, not even a single soul could even be seen anywhere. Even then, Kaoru felt peaceful just sitting there, feeling the cool breeze. There was a comfortable silence, between her and the surroundings. Or so she thought.

Suddenly she felt someone bouncing a ball, the thumping getting louder and louder. Wondering who was disturbing her peace, she looked down, and saw a boy with long, red hair. She grinned.

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**AN: 23/12/2004, Thursday at 1620: **I FINALLY FINISHED REVAMPING this fiction! Though I know there are still grammatical errors, but it's not as bad as before :D.

Kindly leave me a review, and let me know what you think! :)


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